Follow Me
by mutemwija
Summary: But then, when he had locked eyes with Gomamon again, he knew. There was no recognition, no connection, not this ever present glint in the Digimon's big green eyes that scolded him silently. Only surprise and open curiosity. And Joe knew. He knew he'd do everything to get him back.


**Hey guys :D**

 **My first fic to upload here, yay :)**

 **I actually finished this story some time before Sôshitsu aired, but I wasn't confident enough to post it (for various reasons)^^'**

 **But now that I am, I really, really hope you like it! :)**

 **When I heard the song the story's named after, I immediately got the idea to this story in my head. I love Joe and Gomamon just SO much, I figured they deserved something nice and heartwarming after this hell that was Ketsui and the shock at the end of Kokuhaku.**

 **Some parts of the story were inspired by a post from reliablejoukido on tumblr and they are so kind to let me use some phrases of this beautiful post, because I (or anyone else) wouldn't be able to word it better. Thank you again so much! :)**

 **Anyway, if there are any major grammar mistakes or something else you'd like to note/criticize, feel free to do so. I'm super nervous and curious what you guys think of the story, so let me know! :D**

 **Disclaimer: Yes, of course I own Digimon. What did you think?**

* * *

 **Follow Me**

 _You don't know how you met me_

 _You don't know why_

 _You can't turn around and say goodbye_

 _All you know is when I'm with you_

 _I make you free_

 _And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea_

 _("Follow Me" - Uncle Cracker)_

* * *

Ever since the Digimon had disappeared through the portal and these baleful words had manifested itself on Koushiro's computer screen, Joe had clung to the illusion that this was all just some bad dream or a joke.

Something like this was completely unimaginable.

It couldn't be true that the Digiworld was rebooted, right? It couldn't be true that their Digimon partners lost all their memories, right? Gomamon hadn't forgotten everything about him, right?

The times he had spent at home or at prep school or wide awake at night in his now awfully silent and lonely room he had repeated it like a mantra.

 _It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. It couldn't..._

But then, when he had locked eyes with Gomamon again, he knew _._

There was no recognition, no connection, not this ever present glint in the Digimon's big green eyes that scolded him silently. Only surprise and open curiosity _._

And Joe knew.

He knew he'd do _everything_ to get him back.

He'd climb Infinity Mountain again, if he had to, even alone. He'd gladly let himself be prepped as offering for a Bakemon again or be strangled by a Vegiemon. He'd cross the ocean on a damn float or even drown in every sea there was in this world and in any other, if it meant, Gomamon would look at him the same way he did before.

He'd do anything twice as much, if it meant his partner would remember him.

The only problem was he actually didn't know how to approach Gomamon in the first place.

His friends handled the situation with impressive optimism and willingness, but he was just confused and wary in his advances. Negative thoughts and dread ruled his mind, when he remembered their beginning as chosen partners.

They had been bickering all the time and didn't exactly make a good team. How should they? As different as they were?

Gomamon was cocky and loud and sassy and always said what he thought without caring if it was the right time or not and Joe was self-conscious and dogged and cautious and did what he did according to a certain principle.

So what if now Gomamon wouldn't like him anymore? What if he didn't want him as partner anymore? What if he never remembered anything? What if he runs away from him because he's scared?

Okay, that last one was rather unrealistic, but still.

He sighed heavily.

 _Try positive thinking, Joe!_

Screw him and his anxieties. He wouldn't get anything out of this if he only thought about it and if there was _one_ thing he had learned from Gomamon, it was to stop thinking and _start doing_. He _had_ to _do_ something. _Now._

Leaping up the log he was sitting on, he called Gomamon's name and started walking around the camp the friends had made up earlier this day, but the Digimon was nowhere to be seen.

Joe furrowed his brows and tried to remember where he had last seen the white creature when he heard waves crashing against the shore not far away. A smile tugged at his lips then, when he started walking in the direction of the soothing sound. Of course the ocean was where he would find his friend. Why was he so completely stumped sometimes?

Gomamon was floating in the water, eyes closed in pleasure, humming quietly and Joe couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

Some things would never change. And his partner was definitely one of those things.

He stopped.

His partner, that's what Gomamon was.

Despite losing all of his memories, forgetting their fights and quarrels and tiffs and basically everything that made them _them_ , this little cheeky, savage seal-like creature was still _his partner._ To think that he'd run screaming in horror the first time he saw Pukamon all those years ago seemed so unreal and wrong to him now that Joe almost laughed.

They'd come such a long way, as individuals and as partners and the last thing he wanted, was letting that go to waste. He wanted to rebuild their relationship, he wanted to prove that they belonged and more than anything did he want his _friend_ back. Never once had he been more determined in his life.

As if sensing his presence, Gomamon opened on eye lazily and when he spotted Joe in the short distance, a small smile tugged at his lips. So out of these strange humans that had come to their world and contended that they knew each other and were "partners", this one claimed to be his? The lanky, glasses wearing, severe young man whose body language and behavior had _clumsy_ written all over?! That would definitely be interesting.

Still grinning, he paddled to the shore, shook his fur and gave this human a telling look, before he turned to watch the sea. If this human wanted to be his _partner_ he'd better have enough guts to finally start talking to him.

 _Jeez._

Jyou shook his head at Gomamon's demeanor, but nevertheless felt a wave of nervousness washing through him. He had almost screwed up their relationship before; he couldn't afford it this time. This _had_ to work out.

Slow but steady steps led him to the shore and he sat down next to his companion.

"Hello.", he said rather tense and watched the white seal expectantly. Gomamon was always so skittish, for all he knew the Digimon could just jump into the sea and swim away.

"Hello to you too." Gomamon grinned at Joe's nervous fidgeting. "What? Did you thing I'd start screaming and running from you?" He made a noise in his throat. "I'm sorry, but you're not that scary."

Joe's jaw dropped a little, but strange enough he calmed down.

After all, this still seemed to be _his_ Gomamon.

He sighed relieved, but then cleared his throat awkwardly and admitted, "Well, _I_ did run the first time we met."

Gomamon raised a cocky eyebrow. "Why, thank you."

"Hey! One moment, I was… rather _peacefully_ at Summer Camp and the next moment I'm lying on the ground in a strange world with _you_ _floating_ _above_ _my head._ " He stressed the last words of his sentence to make clear _why_ he was so shocked, but Gomamon only raised his eyebrow higher (if that was even possible) and Joe felt the insuperable urge to justify not only his behavior but his whole being. "I've never seen anything even _remotely_ close to you before, okay and I was sca… _surprised_ and…"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine." Gomamon interrupted him, shaking his claw and lowered his eyebrow, so that now he was scowling at Joe. The young man just laughed nervously and awaited his dressing down almost eagerly.

But instead of scolding him, Gomamon turned his eyes away and looked back to the sea, the look in his eyes suddenly becoming distant and kind of sad. A vision, one didn't see on Gomamon very often and Joe knew instantly that he had something important on his mind.

"I'm sorry…" Gomamon whispered so softly that Joe almost didn't catch his words.

"Sorry?"

"Yes…" the Digimon continued somewhat gloomy and then turned his head and looked Joe straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't remember…"

Joe's heart sank to his stomach and he tried hard to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. He wanted to take Gomamon in his arms so badly and hold him tight, just like he had done when they had reunited a few weeks ago. But somehow he was too scared to do it and he just sat there, frozen in his spot and searched his head frantically to find the right words to say. Or just _words_ , anything would be fine.

But nodding was everything he was able to do.

"Were we… a good team?" Gomamon asked with a strange edge to his voice that Joe couldn't quite decipher at this moment.

"Yes.", he said, without any pause or doubt in his voice, so confident and plain, that Gomamon looked at him with wide eyes.

To be fair, Gomamon hadn't really expected that.

And Joe smiled, because he knew what went through Gomamon's head. After all, he himself had told Gomamon that they weren't a good team before they had to separate for the first time and his partner had actually agreed on that. Sure Gomamon didn't remember that, but the fact that the Digimon kind of had the same doubt regarding their relationship, made him smile on the inside.

Maybe they weren't as different as he thought they'd be.

"Okay. Maybe not… from the beginning and maybe not in the common sense, but… we were. We were… we _are_ complementing each other. You lighten me and I… weight you, if that even makes sense… but whenever I went over the top or was too nervous or negative about something or just being too much of… well _me_ , you'd just look at me or say my name with this… undertone in your voice that judged me and challenged me and _infuriated_ me to _no ends_. But ultimately, I knew I took a wrong turn somewhere. It took me awhile to understand that you only wanted my best and even longer to be able to handle you when _you_ escalated, but we found a good balance. _Really!_ " he emphasized the last word, when he saw Gomamon's disbelieving look.

"So when… not so long ago I treated you really bad and you left me… which is kinda the only thing, I'm somewhat _glad_ you forgot about, I realized _again_ just _how much_ you mean to me and _how much_ I need you in my life. And I swore to myself that I'd never let you leave again and that I'd do my best so that you could be proud of me and won't laugh at me the next time I meet you but now… we are _here_. You don't remember me and don't believe me, when I tell you that _yes_ we were a good team and I don't know how to make you remember, how to convince you and I…" He paused suddenly, when he saw the look on Gomamon's face – the exact expression he had described just seconds ago – sighed defeated and ran a desperate hand trough his navy blue hair. "There I went again." A small chuckle escaped his lips at the irony of all of this and he smiled at Gomamon again. "Anyway I… I just hope we will be a good team again. I really… _really_ hope we will."

He smiled again, this time almost confident and Gomamon watched this human closely. Despite his first impression he wasn't really a coward. Well, he was not _brave_ either, but it took some guts and honesty to say things like that so openly to someone.

The bespectacled young man seemed so strange to him; trying to act cool and composed when in reality he was a huge klutz. It aggravated and fascinated him at the same time and he desperately wanted to know more about him.

No.

He wanted to know _everything_ about him.

Sure, he'd only known him for a short time and just barely talked to him, but strangely enough he felt like he had known him his entire life; like he was some kind of missing piece that finally filled a whole in his life. Not that Gomamon had any wholes that needed filling to begin with, but there was just _something_ about this guy. Something that made him want to talk to him more. Something that made him want to get this boy out of his constrained shell and be more easygoing. Something that made him want to climb on his back and let himself be carried around by him all day long. Something that made him want to tease the hell out of him, just for the fun of it.

And with every striking minute he just sat there and watched him, it became harder to ignore that feeling.

"Yeah, I…" he turned his head away, when he felt an unfamiliar heat rising in his cheeks. Stupid human with his stupid, pathetic words! "I guess that'd be nice."

There. He said it. Now the guy would stop giving him these sad looks, right? That was what he wanted to hear after all, so he should be happy now.

Gomamon peered back at the human and nearly jumped, when he saw the wide grin that was plastered on his face all of a sudden.

A long finger tipped his cheek and the brightness of the grin spread to Joe's eyes. "You blushed."

"I did not!" Gomamon cried humiliated and pawed Joe's finger away, his cheeks turning at least two shades darker.

"Sure." Joe chuckled again, wondering if Gomamon's sassiness kind of rubbed off on him and he relished this moment to the fullest. His determination of getting his partner back had turned into confidence. They'd definitely accomplish that. Maybe it would be a little different from before, but he was sure they'd bicker with the same passion again very soon.

And god, how relieved and happy he was about that!

He wanted to hug his partner so badly, but figured it would be a little too much and instead held out his hand to the little creature.

Gomamon looked at him with narrowed eyes and a skeptical raised eyebrow and then turned his head away. "I don't have hands like you, you know."

But Joe only smiled. "What else would you call them, then?"

The Digimon blinked somewhat surprised at the human in front of him. Judging by his outward appearance and behavior so far, he thought this guy would be more uptight and stiff, but apparently that wasn't really the case. Maybe he had more backbone and was cooler than Gomamon had originally thought.

Well, whatever that was true or not, he could only find out by taking action. He was never the type to sit and wait for anything to happen anyway.

Shrugging, Gomamon brushed his claw behind his ear and laced it into the still outstretched hand of the human, only to stop and stare surprised at how well they fit.

"What?" Joe asked confused and Gomamon blinked up at him.

"So that really _was_ a hand."

He'd actually meant it as a sarcastic comment, a joke and he didn't understand in the slightest, why the blue haired human suddenly had this strange look in his eyes, as if he was hurt or anxious and couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

But as fast as it appeared the look was gone and replaced again with a friendly smile.

Odd.

He'd been so honest before but now he kept his thoughts to himself?

"Hey, if you have something to say, just say it."

The smile faltered just a little and Joe sighed. "Even if you have something to say, there are times when you're better off not saying it."

Gomamon cocked his head to the side slightly and his ears twitched as he thought about it. "Yeah, that might be true."

"Oh, so you agree with me, Gomamon?"

"Hm." He mumbled. It actually bugged him that the human hadn't voiced whatever thoughts troubled his mind and he tried his hardest not to let his counterpart know. "But don't get used to it."

Joe let out a small chuckle. "Of course not." He assured his partner and when they both genuinely smiled at each other for the first time since their conversation started, Joe wondered why he had been so nervous about all of this in the first place.

 _So what_ if Gomamon lost all of his memories, they were still _chosen partners_. Something like this didn't just change overnight. Or over a reboot.

In fact, their bond was so strong he doubted it could be cut in any way.

"Hey, if we're really going to travel the world together, how about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" Joe asked hesitatingly. Gomamon surely was up to no good and he could literally _hear_ him roll his eyes at his question.

"Yeah. You see, I'm not really good at _walking_ on the land, I prefer swimming as you may have noticed already. But as you _so much_ want me to come along with you and I'm the only water type in this group, I figure the majority of this journey will take us over land. I wouldn't want to slow everyone down, just because I can't move properly, so I think you should just carry me. Or let me sit on your shoulders or your head. I'm not heavy anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. Right?"

Although Gomamons "right _"_ sounded more like a threat than a suggestion, Joe grinned wide. He associated his partner with being _right there_ anyway, so carrying him definitely wouldn't be a problem. Quite the contrary.

It was like coming home.

"No, it's fine. I'll carry you." He said and Gomamon nodded short, but firmly, pride glistening in his eyes. "But only on one condition…"

The Digimon's brows creased expectantly. "And what would that be?"

"Well…"Joe started and tried his best to contain his poker face. "As you just said the majority of our journey will be on land, but someday we'll inevitably get to the sea. And as you are without a doubt the better swimmer between us, it'd be only fair, if you'd carry me at these times. Don't you think?"

Gomamon blinked somewhat amazed and then squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Don't you _dare_ puke on my fur when you get seasick!"

"What? Why should I do that?"

The Digimon simply shrugged the human's exclamation away as if the source of his concerns was plainly obvious. "No offense, but you seem like positive thinking isn't exactly your favorite thing to do and pessimistic people get seasick easier, you know.

"As if optimism has something to do with seasickness." Joe laughed a little nervous, totally _not_ seeing an empty bag of emergency supplies and an Ogremon before hi s inner eyes, _**no**_ _._ He cleared his throat to give his voice a calmer tone and held up his hand as if making a vow. "I won't."

"Uh-hu…" Doubt was still written all over Gomamon's face, but after a short pause he nodded slowly. "Okay then."

Smiling, Joe stood up and pointed to his shoulders as if inviting the little Digimon to his home. "So what do you say we head back to the others? I think I smell some food."

While Gomamon still tried to estimate whether he just made a huge mistake, he neither couldn't ignore the delicious smell that stroke his nose nor this quite comfortable looking back.

He smirked brightly before climbing up the human's back and finding a homey place somewhere between his head and his shoulders, where he fit almost perfectly.

Just as if these shoulders were made especially for Gomamon.

He definitely liked that.

"So…" Jyou grinned over his shoulder and raised his eyebrow at Gomamon (which felt better than he expected… he should have done that a long time before…), because he noticed the little flush on his partners face. "Are you sticking with me?"

"No." The answer came almost immediately. "I'm gonna _put up_ with you."

Joe groaned.

Why was Gomamon _always_ such a handful? Couldn't he be nice to him once? Only once?

Probably not.

And then again, if Gomamon actually _was_ nice to him, it wouldn't be right anyway. The fact that he felt this mixture of exhaustion, huff and defiance right now only meant they were almost back to where they were before the reboot.

And even if it didn't sound like it, _this_ was exactly how it should be.

Because to Joe these emotions meant that they were on the right path.

They'd be friends, brawlers, companions, _chosen partners_ and even if Gomamon wouldn't be able to retrieve his memories, so be it.

They could, they _would_ make new ones.

Joe was certain of it.


End file.
